Overall
Part 1 crime has increased slightly each of the past three years in the SCMPD
jurisdiction. Importantly, however, those three years saw the lowest levels of
both violent and property crime over the past four decades.

What
does this mean? While Part 1 crime increased 1.3% between 2013 and 2014, it was
still 41% below the total we saw 30 years ago, even as the overall population
in Savannah-Chatham increased 32% over that time period. Last year’s Part 1
crime total was 38% below the total 20 years ago, and 27% below the total of a
decade ago (see charts below).

We’re
also solving more crimes. For the past five years Savannah-Chatham’s clearance
rate has been above the national average. For the previous five years it was
below the national average.

This
is not to minimize the crime problem in Savannah. Gun violence, in particular,
continues to be a major issue on our streets. The Savannah-Chatham jurisdiction
recorded 190 aggravated assaults committed with a gun in 2014 – the highest
total in a decade. And we are on pace to have more gun-related crimes committed
in 2015 vs. 2014. Part 1 crime on Sept. 12, 2015, was 10% above the same time period 2014, including a 20% increase in violent crime. (View weekly crime stats HERE)

Most
of these incidents involve young men – often gang members – in dispute with one
another over drugs or other matters. Changing this culture of violence, which
has been with us for 40 years, will take the entire community.

The
City of Savannah this summer signed a contract with the National Network for
Safe Communities, led by renowned criminologist David Kennedy, to help us
develop a community-based strategy called Stop Gun Violence: Step Forward to reduce violent
crime by targeting gang members and other high-risk individuals. This strategy
has been implemented with great success in other communities, such as Boston,
New York City, and High Point, N.C. (read about the organization).

This
is just one of a number of new strategies being implemented by new Police Chief
Jack Lumpkin, who is focusing on technology and data, community-oriented
policing, and fully staffing our ranks to drive down crime. On Aug. 21, a new
pay scale was implemented in SCMPD that will make our department among the
best-paid police departments in the Southeast. This should help our department
recruit a better force, and retain high-achieving officers.